The 11 Best Sketch Comedies of All Time

As the vitality of sketch comedymoves increasingly online thanks to sites like Funny or Die and series like Between Two Ferns, it’s encouraging that television can still surprise us with a show like Portlandia. In honor of its return for a second season on IFC, here are our picks for the 11 best sketch comedyshows of all time.

Somewhere between its existence as a music channel and its current reality TV slate, MTV had a wonderful, short-lived half-hour sketch comedyshow which never quite found its audience among the network’s teen viewers.

The British—they have the charm and the accent and the overwhelming ability to take an average phrase, like oh lets say, “Please Mr. Music, will you play?” and turn it into a ridiculous cocktail name catchphrase that prompts an even more absurd dance. BBC’s sketch comedyA Bit of Fry & Laurie starred former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, who followed a strict agenda of wordplay, fourth wall breaking, political bashing, instrument playing, elaborate innuendos and singing numbers. With Noel Edmonds as a frequent target and The Beatlesand Elvis tributes in between, it’s no wonder DVD releases have found new fans since their 2006 release.—Kristen Blanton

Mr. Show with Bob and David was the brainchild of former SNL writer Bob Odenkirkand stand-up extraordinaire David Cross. Its ability to push the boundaries and absurd sketches helped separate the show from other more traditional shows. The series mocked series topics like Satanism, after-school specials and the Ku Klux Klan, which helped make it a cult hit in the late ’90s.—Adam Vitcavage

In Living Color was the first sketch show with a predominantly African-American cast to burst out onto the scene. The Wayans family created an edgy program where comics were able to speak freely, helping launch the careers of Jamie Foxxand Jim Carrey, one of the few white members of the show. Notable sketches like Fire Marshall Bill and an Arsenio Hall parody have been revered over time and helped revive the show. Two half-hour specials will air later this year with the option for bringing it back for a full season.—Adam Vitcavage

The precursor to Saturday Night Live was rooted in vaudeville humor, more politically charged and risqué than sketch comedies like The Red Skelton Show, which had come before. It also featured some of the first music videos on television and a guest appearance from political candidate Richard Nixon.

Before Wayne’s World, local TV was spoofed by Andrew Alexander’s Second City troupe via SCTV, the fake channel from Melonville, Ontario which included clips from “The Great White North” with Bob & Doug McKenzie.

Parodying Hollywoodwith “As the Stomach Turns” and “Went with the Wind,” it was a ratings and critical success for most of its 11-year run. The skit “The Family” even spun-off into its own show, Mama’s Family. Burnett addressed gender issues in this Star Trek spoof:

The Kids in the Hallfirst unleashed their quirky take on sketch comedy in 1988 in Canada on the CBC network. The group—which included Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson—was best known for memorable characters like Headcrusher, the It’s a Fact! girl, and Gavin. And although the show only lasted for five seasons, it left behind unforgettably hilarious sketches like Bobby vs. the Devil and Things to Do;Tyler Kane

In the last decade, no comedian made racially tense, cringe-worthy moments funnier than Dave Chappelle. His show, dubbed simply Chappelle’s Show, originally aired on Comedy Central in 2003, and its three seasons spawned instantly quotable characters. With characters ranging from the blind white supremacist Clayton Bigsby, who didn’t know he was actually black, to Tyrone Biggums, the high-voiced crack addict that always reminds the audience “I smoke rocks,” Chappelle and long-time collaborator Charlie Murphy cemented their spots among the greats of sketch comedy.—Tyler Kane

While SNL has had its share of comic peaks and valleys, no other show has launched more comic stars, earning 142 Emmy nominations and spawning 11 (mostly terrible) movies along the way. Every time its stars have moved on, they’ve only made way for a new crop of talent to eventually fill the void.

The six Brits in Monty Python created, wrote and acted in the groundbreaking series, giving them the freedom to experiment with form and content and redefine what sketch comedycould be. Unlike SNL, the troupe were masters at keeping skits from dragging by interrupting weaker segments by dropping animated weights on characters or having an unrelated character barge in declaring things have become “far too silly” before moving on to something completely different. Often absurd (“The Ministry of Silly Walks,” “Self-Defense Agaist Fresh Fruit,” “The Fish-Slapping Dance”), almost always cutting edge, this is comedy that’s only gotten better with age.